Cancer causes millions of deaths a year worldwide and rates are also rising as more people live to an older age. It is anticipated that one in eight people currently alive will eventually die of cancer. Cancer manifests itself in a wide variety of forms, characterized by different degrees of invasiveness and aggressiveness. Malignant tumors are the second leading cause of death in the United States, after heart disease. 87% of cancer diagnoses in the U.S. are in people age 50 and older. But aging is not an intrinsic, irrevocable component of life. It can be manipulated just like other biological processes. Aging is a pathophysiological phenomenon that is possible to influence so as to delay or postpone the aging process, and in turn, delay the onset and incidence of various cancers. A recent and better understanding of the mechanisms of aging and longevity and the finding of particular pharmological agents that can extend lifespans and healthspans in other organisms, reveals that the aging process is malleable. The prospect of achieving a longer life, free of age related functional decline and fragility, such as cancer, is perhaps the quinessential long-felt but unsolved problem of mankind.
Aging is currently stimulating intense interest of both researchers and the general public. In developed countries, the average life expectancy has increased by roughly 30 years within the last century, and human senescence has been delayed by around a decade. The proportion of people over 60 is rising faster than any other age group in developed nations around the world. Seniors are expected to be one-fifth of the global population by 2050, double the proportion in 2017. Thus, one general objective of various embodiments of the present invention is to provide scientifically sound ways to help our aging population live healthier for longer. Although aging is arguably the most familiar aspect of human biology, its proximate and ultimate causes have not been fully elucidated. Consumption of tomato fruits, like those of many other plant species that are part of the human diet, is considered to be associated with several positive effects on health. Indeed, tomato fruits are an important source of bioactive compounds with known beneficial effects including vitamins, antioxidants, and anticancer substances. In particular, antioxidant metabolites are a group of vitamins, carotenoids, phenolic compounds, and phenolic acid that can provide effective protection by neutralizing free radicals, which are unstable molecules linked to the development of a number of degenerative diseases and conditions.
Aging is accompanied by a chronic, low grade, inflammatory status, resulting from an imbalance between pro- and anti-inflammatory processes, a pathogenic condition that is critical in the onset of certain major age-related chronic diseases, including atherosclerosis, type 2 diabetes, and neuro-degeneration. One goal of healthy aging and longevity relates to how best to achieve a lower propensity to accumulate inflammatory responses. Increasingly, there is a growing awareness of the importance of the variation in the gut microbiota as its affects the etiology of several age-related diseases, including cancer. Skeletal muscle atrophy is a nearly universal consequence of cancer. Cachexia is a positive risk factor for death, meaning if the patient has cachexia, the chance of death from the underlying condition is increased dramatically. Cachexia is considered the immediate cause of death of a large proportion of cancer patients, ranging from 22% to 40% of the patients. The pathogenesis of cancer cachexia is poorly understood. It is believed that multiple biologic pathways are involved, including proinflammatory cytokines and tumor-specific factors such as proteolysis-inducing factor. Muscle atrophy is believed to occur by a change in the normal balance between protein synthesis and protein degradation. During atrophy, there is a down-regulation of protein synthesis pathways and an activation of protein breakdown pathways. Only limited treatment options exist for patients with clinical cancer cachexia. Current treatment strategies involve attempting to improve an individual's appetite using appetite stimulants and protein supplementation to provide the individual with required nutrients. The reversal of cancer cachexia and muscle wasting leads to prolonged survival, and with the ability to retain muscle mass and strength, it is believed that various forms of cancer treatment may be more effective, if only due to the fact that the cancer victim may be able to withstand the rigors of the various cancer treatments involved. There is presently, however, an absence of effective medical therapies to prevent or reverse skeletal muscle atrophy, and especially therapies that involve reliance on a modification of a patient's microbiome. Current treatment recommendations to address skeletal muscle atrophy (e.g. physical rehabilitation, nutritional optimization, and treatment of underlying disease) are often ineffective and/or unfeasible and at present, a pharmacologic therapy does not exist. Thus, a treatment for skeletal muscle atrophy associated with cancer represents a very large unmet medical need and addressing the same is believed to not only extend an individual's lifespan, but also their healthspan.
What has been long desired throughout human history is a way to treat, inhibit or reduce the aging of a human, thereby also reducing the incidence of age related diseases and symptoms, such as cancer. The present invention in its various embodiments as described herein provides a method and system to extend the healthspan and lifespan of humans, providing a method and system to delay the onset of various cancers and to otherwise treat or prevent cancer.